The Next Generation
by Little Demon Girl
Summary: The now free humans in Zion have a threat still to kill. Twins Switch and Apoc, thier younger siblings Mouse and Splinter are on their way to the Neb 2 to save Zion...
1. The Nebuchadnezzar 2

AN: Okay, here goes. I'm really bad at Matrix fanfiction, but I like writing it. So here u go. Also, if these characters suck...please review and tell me!

Disclaimer: Yes, I own The Matrix, I own Keanu. He is mine. *blinks* oh, just a dream.

Title: The next Generation.

~~~

"Hey, Apoc, wait up." Sighing, Apoc stopped and waited for his twin sister Switch. She smiled at him as she caught up and they resumed walking. "You seen little bro? Or sis?"

"Nope." He replied. "I suspect Mouse is with his newest girl and Splinter, well, I have no idea where she is."

Switch turned to Apoc and stared at him for a second. "What do you mean you don't know where Splinter is?"

She turned around and started to walk back the way she had come from. Apoc ran after her and grabbed her arm. "Switch, we never know what she gets up to, and what makes you think you can find her?"

She sighed again for good measure and turned back around, heading towards the library to study for the last test, the one they needed to get them on the ship with their parents.

Her mind wandered to her siblings. The older twins were totally different from the younger two. Apoc was tall, well muscled with dark hair and he had his admirers. Switch was tall too, with very short blonde hair that she recently bleached. Neither were anything like their parents, more like the famous hackers they were named after.

Mouse was just like who he was named after. The original Mouse from the Nebuchadnezzar. He was smart, funny and had a way with the ladies. He had inherited his father's good looks, and at 17, he had all the girls at the small Zion school at his feet. He was so smart actually that the headmaster had granted him permission to leave school for a few years to join his twin siblings and his mother and father on the Nebuchadnezzar 2.

Splinter on the other hand was different. She was a shy girl, with her mothers looks, tall, dark hair that fell over her face and very, very smart. She was the top in all her classes, and she was the best hacker around. She could crack into any computer in Zion. Even the Zion mainframe computer. Boy, she got into so much trouble for that one. But Switch was secretly very proud of her. She created viruses to challenge anyone's and used them whenever she felt the need. She was the smartest 16 year old in Zion. And probably the most feared too.

"What?" Apoc asked. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." She replied. "Where do you think Splinter is?"

"I really don't know. She could be anywhere. Last time wasn't she at that club? You know, The Matrix." He answered, referring to the club that was named after the original Matrix. It opened right after the original Matrix was destroyed. It was destroyed before the twins were born so all the four siblings knew about it was told to them by their parents.

"Well." Switch stopped and looked at the library in front of them. "I think we have studied enough. Don't you? We have studied for the past week and we already know the stuff, let's take a break."

She smiled wickedly at her brother and started to walk in the direction of The Matrix. She called to Apoc over her shoulder and he started after her. As they neared The Matrix, they could feel the beat in the ground. Switch grinned at Apoc and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the club.

~~~

She saw them before they saw her and she groaned. She was going to be in trouble. She watched them for a second but was a little thrown back by the smiles on their faces.

"Weird." She muttered. "Totally weird."

"Hey Splinter, I need a worm for Ice." Splinter's head snapped up and she growled at her best friend, Cyclone. "Oops. Sorry. Forgot."

Cyclone sat down next to Splinter and peered over her shoulder at the small computer screen. Splinter's fingers flew around the keyboard for a second or two, fished a disk out of the little shoulder back next to her and slipped it in.

"One, two, three, bingo." She whispered, grinning from ear to ear. She pressed the little button to eject the disk and passed it to Cyclone. "Take care. I mean it this time. I nearly got caught last time."

"What's on the disk?" Splinter closed her eyes and moaned. "Splinter, what's on the disk?"

"Hey to you too Switch, Apoc." She opened her eyes after a second or two and stared at her siblings. They maybe three years older but they didn't scare her. Well, much. "Umm, nothing."

"Yeah right." Switch answered her, flopping down next to her. "What is it this time?"

Splinter saw the twinkle in her eye and grinned. Switch was her favourite sister. Okay, her only sister but she was cool. "Nothing big, just a small worm for Cyclone to feed into her ex's computer."

Apoc frowned at the two but was interrupted mid-frown. "Apoc, imagine seeing you here."

'Oh God. Help me'. He thought, turning to the honey sweet voice. "Hey there Vixen, how are you?"

The slight red-head smiled at him and placed a huge kiss on his cheek. "I never imagined to see you here."

He looked at her very slightly clad body and replied. "I knew you would be here."

The smile instantly left her face and she pouted at him. He forced a smile and her frown turned upside down. "You want to dance, Apoc darling?"

"Ahh, I don't dance." He replied. She shook her head at him and frowned slightly. He tried to smile at her but it came out as more of a grimace. That made her leave.

"Great one Romeo." Switch laughed. She had been watching the entire episode. He glanced over at Splinter and saw her smile slightly.

"You think that's funny do you?" He inquired, sitting down next to her. Switch sat on the opposite side of her. She nodded; the smile widened.

"Have you ever wondered why your mouth is so big bro?" Switch asked him. He shook his head, smiling.

"So your big feet can fit into it." Splinter finished for her, pointing at his large feet.

"Well excuse me little miss lanky." He replied, poking her in the ribs. She smiled at him but then her laptop emitted a small beep and she turned all her attention to it. He peered over her shoulder but received an elbow in the ribs.

"Hey, do I read your mail?" She asked him acidly.

"I dunno, you might have hacked into my computer..." He started, but was interrupted by Splinter's happy cry.

"Mum and dad coming to visit." She announced, looking up excitedly at her siblings.

When they were all younger, their parents went off a lot to fight the remaining sentinels and A.I. robots. They knew their parents loved them but they were married to the job. When the twins were old enough to look after the house by themselves, their parents left for longer periods of time, but they never missed anything crucial, like Splinter's first trip to the headmaster's office for hacking into the schools computer and changing everyone's marks to A's, at the age of nine. Or the twin's formal. They loved their kids but they did stay on the Neb 2 a lot, so it was nice when they came home.

"Cool, when?" Switch asked, peering over Splinter's shoulder. Apoc started to protest but instead he peered over her shoulder too.

"Doesn't really say." Splinter answered. "And all it really says is that we will see them soon. I assume they are coming to visit."

"Cool." Replied Cyclone.

~~~

Tapping his foot to the beat, he tightened the grip on his new girlfriend's waist. She turned her head and smiled at him.

"Come on, let's dance." She said, pulling him onto the dance floor. He laughed at her and obliged by following.

They got onto the dance floor and started to dance. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Her body pressed to his, he felt her heart hammering and he smiled. With two fingers under her chin he lifted her head to look at him and lowered his lips toward hers. She closed her eyes and...

"Mouse, long time no see." Apoc butted in.

"Shit." Mouse whispered softly, lifting his head up and turning towards his brother's voice. "Apoc. Switch. Splinter. Cyclone."

Each greeting was short and harsh; he was annoyed and he wanted them to know it.

"Mouse." Switch, Splinter and Cyclone replied, just as short and harsh.

"Guys, meet Mercuri. My girlfriend." He told them. He pointed out each to her and asked if they wanted to go somewhere more private to talk. Switch and Apoc nodded and Splinter and Cyclone just followed.

They arrived at an empty booth and they slipped in. Switch, Splinter and Cyclone on one side and Mercuri, Mouse and Apoc on the other. Splinter immediately got her laptop out and turned it on, trying to avoid a family feud. Apoc and Switch just stared at Mouse.

"I thought you guys would be studying." Mouse said to them, implying it as a question. "You know, the one to get you two on the Neb 2 with me, mum and dad."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Apoc said. "Mum and dad are coming to visit."

"Ah, no they're not." Replied Splinter, looking up from her computer. "We are going to them."

"All of us?" Mouse inquired, looking at Splinter. "Even you?"

"Hey, Mouse, leave her alone." Switch replied. "If mum and dad said all of us, then all of us will be going."

Splinter nodded and glared at her brother. Apoc grinned until she glared at him too.

"When do you go?" Mercuri asked, speaking for the first time. She took Mouse's hand. "How are you getting to them?"

"Well." Splinter clicked around for a second and then read it out. "'You will board the Scorpio on B-Dock 8 at 09:00 in three days from receiving this message. The Scorpio and the Neb 2 cross paths within another day and we will meet you.'"

"Cool, the Scorpio and the Neb 2." Cyclone exclaimed, looking up from Splinter's computer. "You guys are so lucky."

"Look, I have to go." Mercuri said. Apoc and Mouse got up for her to get out of the booth. She gave Mouse a peck on the cheek and a quick smile before melting into the crowd on the dance floor and leaving.

Mouse slid back into the seat and looked into the expectant eyes of Apoc and Switch.

"What?" He asked, even though he know the question.

"Who is the poor girl?" Switch asked. "Does she know of your long line of broken hearts?"

"She's a girl from school Switch." He replied jauntily. "What is it of your business anyway?"

"Well excuse me for wondering who she is. And if you are going to break another young girls heart." Mouse smiled at her serious face and she couldn't help but smile at him. She could never stay mad at him for long.

"Come on, let's dance." Cyclone said, pushing the girls out of the booth.

They spent the rest of the night dancing in The Matrix.

_Three days later_

All four of them stood on B-Dock 8, staring up at the hovercrafts. There were a couple waiting for refuelling or repairs whilst two more were being filled with supplies and boarded.

Splinter was carrying her shoulder bag with her beloved laptop with all her disks and supplies she would need for a couple of weeks. Her eyes were drawn to the huge ships that came and went from the Zion docks regularly.

Apoc carried a small bag with the few meagre belongings the older three siblings needed. Switch and Mouse followed him.

A tap on the shoulder made Splinter turn around and she was instantly enveloped in a bear hug. "I'm gonna miss you Splin." Cyclone whispered into her ear. Splinter smiled and hugged her back tightly. "Have fun and please say hi to your parents for me."

"I will." Splinter whispered back. "I'll miss you too. Write to me often."

Cyclone nodded, the tears in her eyes evident. Cyclone never cried but Splinter had been her best friend since, well, forever.

They broke away and stood side by side as they heard the hovercraft approach. As the huge flood lights swam around the air, a horrid screeching filled the air.

"Apoc, oh Apoc darling." All five beings on the B-Dock moaned and Apoc slowly turned around to face Vixen.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, less than nicely.

"I only wanted to see you off." She replied, a large frown painted on her face. "Oh, and to see Kitten and Fox off too."

Apoc looked up and saw Kitten and Fox walk up behind their sister. Apoc shook Fox's hand and actually had a genuine smile for Kitten.

Fox was a little less than a year older than the twins but Vixen still acted like the older of the three.

Even though Vixen and Kitten were identical twins, Kitten tried to take a more subtle approach to her looks. Her hair was shorter that Vixens long locks and she had dyed it a darker red, rather than Vixen's flame red. They were still both tall, thin and beautiful but Kitten tried not to show off her good looks or the fact that she was related in anyway to Vixen.

"Kitten, what are you doing here?" Switch asked, hugging her best friend. She smiled politely at Fox.

"We've been recruited to go on the Neb 2." She replied. Fox grinned and picked up the small bag he was carrying.

"Come on guys. It's landed." Mouse yelled at them, referring to the Scorpio as he walked briskly up to it.

"Well, here goes nothing." Switch said, linking arms with Kitten and followed Mouse, Apoc and Fox onto the Scorpio with Splinter tagging along behind.

"Tut-tar Apoc. See you later Kitten, Fox." They all heard Vixen cry out after them. "Oh, and goodbye Switch, Mouse and Splinter."

"Bye Splinter." Cyclone yelled out. "See ya later Switch, have fun Apoc, Bye Kitten and Fox. Oh, and bye Mouse."

The six young adults stepped onto the ship that would change their lives forever.


	2. The Scorpio

AN: This was already written so I thought I might post it. There should be two more chapters with in 2 months.

"Good day." A young Zion born came out of the shadows and extended her hand towards Apoc. He took her offered hand and shook it. "Welcome aboard the Scorpio. I am Chetta."

Her long curly hair was left out, wild but looked pretty on her full frame. She looked only a few years older than Apoc and Switch. Her smile was wide and inviting so the group of newbies followed her as she went straight to the main deck. Splinter hung back a little as Mouse, Fox and Apoc went up the ladder. She watched as Apoc disappeared up the hole and then Kitten. Switch threw a glance over to Splinter and Splinter smiled as Switch climbed the ladder too. Splinter waited a moment before entering the main deck through that hole as well.

"...am Storm, the Captain of this hovercraft. This is Pandora, our ship's doctor, Chord, our engineer and you have already met Chetta, she's our computer technician. They are my crew." A loud voice hit Splinter's ears as she crept out of the hole. She looked around at Storm's crew. Storm was unplugged and looked in her late forties. Her arms were covered in the minute scars and the input/output plug was strikingly evident under her short blonde hair. "You will be staying with us for three days. In that time this is not a vacation. You will do as asked and you will be a part of my crew."

They all nodded, taking in the large main deck, filled with electrical cords, computer screens and even seven old chairs, lined up in a semi circle, covered in dust.

"I will need to see you all some time in these three days for a complete physical. No sickies are allowed on the hovercrafts." Pandora spoke, casting a glance over the six. Pandora was another unplugee, probably in her late thirties, early forties. Her long brunette hair that came down below her waist in a long braid punctuated her slight frame well. "If any of you have anything, you will have to be brought back to Zion."

She turned and left the room. Chetta started the engines and the ship shuddered. The six newcomers nearly fell over each other. They righted themselves and then waited as Storm manoeuvred the Scorpio out of the boarding docks and out into the sewers.

"So, you didn't need supplies?" Fox asked, putting down a small bag he had. Storm looked at him and left the room, which confused them all.

"What's the deal with her?" Asked Switch, she studied the old plug in chair closest to her. Fox and Kitten sat down on one of the chairs, Apoc stood with his arms crossed over his chest, Mouse was lying in the plug in chair that Switch was studying and Splinter stood near the hole they came up in, looking at all the computers in the room.

"She's a little eccentric." Chord replied. He was Zion born, bald and had a rather contagious grin. He looked in his early thirties. "And no, we didn't need supplies. We are on a special mission. Just to get you four up to your parents. Fox and Kitten are just tagging along."

Kitten and Fox grinned at Chord as the other four smiled softly in embarrassment. Chord grinned again.

"Look, why doesn't Fox, Apoc and Mouse come with me." He turned to look at Chetta. "Would you take the girls to the women's quarters?"

Chetta smiled kindly at Splinter, whom looked very alienated. She moved off to the right with Kitten, Switch and Splinter following her as Chord moved off to the left with Fox, Apoc and Mouse following him.

~~~

"Here are the lovely women's quarters." Chetta walked into the women's quarters. The three girls filed in after her and looked around the room. It was long, nearly four metres wide and very long. Chetta turned and placed her hand on the wall near the door; lights flickered on along the rooms ceiling. The room itself was rather long, many crude mattresses lined the wall on the right side. The three girls followed Chetta down the long corridor like room into another room. The end opened out into a large room on the end, like an L shape. The room contained a bathroom on one side, a kitchen, a dining room and to their amazement an old ping pong table.

Taking the bed nearest the room, Splinter put her bag down and sat down on the bed, waiting. Switch took the bed next to Splinter, Kitten next to her. They could see that Storm occupied the one closest to the door, Pandora next to her and Chetta was next.

The walls were a dull grey metal. Just like the rest of the ship. Splinter turned and placed her hand against the wall next to her bad and to her surprise, it was warm.

"It's warm." She told Switch, moving to kneel on her bed, both hands against the wall. Switch and Kitten copied her by kneeling on their beds and placing both their hands against the metal too.

Switch moved over to touch the opposite wall. "This side is cold." She told the two.

"Yes, the walls the beds are lined on is next to the engine room. It saves on heating." Chetta told them, going over to the sink and turning on the tap. There was a thumping sound and the tap shook until water rushed out into the waiting cup Chetta had under it. "Anybody else want some?"

"No thanks." Came the replies of the three girls, followed by the shakings of three heads.

The three newcomers wandered around the room they were to stay in for the next three days. Chetta watched them, intrigued. Switch looked at lot like her famous father with his eyes but with her bleached hair and boyish figure, she looked even more like the infamous hacker Switch who died not long before she was born. She was still a very beautiful woman, thanks to her mother and fathers genes.

Splinter looked the exact copy of her mother. She had the same thin but beautiful face, the perfect figure, grey eyes that pierced, black hair that she grew long, unlike her mother. She was an after thought, unplanned according to the cyber papers. Also very smart and talented with a computer was the story on the girl.

Chetta emptied her glass and placed it down on the table. "C'mon, I'll show you the rest of the ship."

~~~

"One more corridor to the left," Chord rounded the left corner and Apoc, Fox and Mouse followed. "...and here we are." He pushed open a heavy metal door to reveal a large square room with beds lining one wall. The room was long enough to have five beds along one side. The rest of the room was a kitchen a living room and a play room all in one with the bathroom off to the side in an adjoining room. Lining the opposite wall to the beds was a fridge in one corner, a sink, benches with cupboards underneath them and above and then there was a small oven in the corner.

"My bed in the one near the door." Chord told them, moving into the room and sitting down on the couch in the middle of the room. Next to it was a table with four chairs. He indicated that they drop their things down. Fox took the bed in the corner, Apoc next and then Mouse.

"Come on, I'll show ya the rest of the ship." He got up again as the silence got to him and the three followed him out of the room, Apoc turning the light off as he went.

~~~

Splinter was fascinated at the ship. They followed Chetta down deeper into the ship, every left, right, down, up was lost to her as suddenly they were back on the main deck where all the computers were. She was totally drawn in by them.

"Hey, um, Chetta." She called out, as Chetta went to show them where Pandora was. Chetta stopped and watched her. "Ah, could I stay here and look these computers over?"

Chetta agreed. "They haven't been used in nearly 20 years. Not since the Matrix was destroyed. There's a whole stack of disks in the store room if you can find it."

Switch smiled at her little sister's inquisitive mind. She knew that The Matrix computers would entice her. "I'll see you soon k?"

Splinter nodded at her sister, not listening to her. She got into the Operators chair slowly and turned on the computers. A soft whirring caught her ears and sounded to her like purring. The main screen flickered once but no image came on. She tried tapping a few keys into the keyboard in front of her but nothing. Guessing it was connected to the Matrix she gave up on it.

So then she tried a different computer. Nothing happened. She tried re-connecting it to the Zion mainframe.

"Bingo." Images flashed across her screen, thousands of images in just a few seconds. "Woah."

These computers were way faster than her laptop. She was amazed at how fast it really was. She typed in a few digits she knew off her memory and she was in. The Zion mainframe whizzed past her eyes so fast she nearly didn't catch it. Then she saw something she wanted to play with.

"Hmm, lights to the city." She giggled softly, bringing them online. She brought up a program behind it to make sure no-one could trace it. She looked again at the Zion electricity. She rerouted the lights to the city to the computer on her right and she kept an eye on it. Then she tapped into her laptop, downloaded a virus onto the left of her and spent the next 10 minutes changing it slightly to suit a new purpose.

Setting it up, she rerouted all the other screens to show major security cameras. She pressed enter and suddenly all the light on the cameras went out. Then they flickered on, then off. Splinter started to laugh at the surprised people rushing around Zion. A sudden noise startled her and she spun in her seat to see Pandora watching her from a few meters away.

"How long have you been there?" Splinter asked, knowing with all the evidence around her she was up for a long stay in juvenile detention. Even with her parents intervention. She watched Pandora walk up silently to her, then past her to run her fingers over the screen where Zion's lights were online.

"Long enough." She replied. Splinter spun in the chair again, this time towards the screens, watching Pandora. Quickly she cut the connection to the Zion mainframe, covering her tracks with two little buttons and shut down the computers. She watched Pandora walk around the computers and behind them, looing at Splinter through the cracks between each screen.

"I grew up in the Matrix. I loved to play with computers, they were a security blanket." She walked around the computers to stand in front of Splinter. "I won't tell on you okay?"

Pandora's good natured grin startled Splinter but she smiled too.

"When I was first taken out of the Matrix I was the operator. I sat right in this chair." She pointed to the chair Splinter was sitting in and Splinter slid out of it to make room for Pandora. "I loved it because it meant I never had to go back into the Matrix."

"Look, I'm sorry about fiddling with the lights, I get an itch and I need to scratch. It usually turns out to be a big prank." Splinter tried to reason with Pandora but was cut off as Pandora started to laugh. "What?"

"Oh honey, you are quite a character, we're gunna love you on the Scorpio. We haven't had a kid on here since Chords cousin. She was a sweetie. Although," She pondered for a second, "...I do recall the walls were a nice shade of crayons."

Splinter laughed at Pandora and realised she just made a friend.

"Your secret is safe with me Splinter." Pandora whispered. "Be a little more discreet next time, and make sure Storm doesn't find out."

Splinter nodded. "How about I have that check up now?"

"Okay then." Pandora grinned and directed Splinter down to her 'doctors office'. 


End file.
